


All Wounds

by hollyandvice (hiasobi_writes)



Series: Holly's Round Eight H/C Bingo Card [73]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Coma, Hospitalization, Hospitals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 15:58:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13170276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiasobi_writes/pseuds/hollyandvice
Summary: Jounouchi knows that he should be angry. On some level, he is. Yuugi's been in the hospital three weeks with no sign of improvement, and keeping Yuugi safe has been one of those things he holds at the core of his being for years. Yuugi being unconscious and unresponsive andcomatoseshould be a much bigger problem than it feels like.Atem returns, but his reunion with Yuugi doesn't go as planned.





	All Wounds

Jounouchi knows that he should be angry. On some level, he is. Yuugi's been in the hospital three weeks with no sign of improvement, and keeping Yuugi safe has been one of those things he holds at the core of his being for years. Yuugi being unconscious and unresponsive and _comatose_ should be a much bigger problem than it feels like.

But, for the first time in a long time, they're all together again, and Jounouchi can't find it in him to be all that worried when everyone's together again. Anzu's come back from New York for awhile, Honda's taking as much time off of work as he can, Bakura visits regularly, even Kaiba has been quietly funneling his money into paying Yuugi's hospital bills so his grandfather doesn't need to worry about anything. And then.

And then there's the ostensible cause of Yuugi's unconsciousness, sitting vigil at Yuugi's side since the day he returned. Quiet, unyielding, _present_. Unerring and whole in that way Jounouchi had forgotten he could be. Silent and strong as he sits at Yuugi's side, listening intently to everything the doctors say so he can relay the information to the others when they come by after work or before meetings, finding those spare moments when they can come by to be with Yuugi.

There's all of them, living their lives around this shift, and then there's Atem, living his life like Yuugi's the only thing that matters.

Jounouchi makes a point of coming by regularly, taking only in-town dueling matches between shifts of his day job instead of traveling to tournaments. Every time he's there, the nurses smile knowingly, nodding at him, and every time, there's Atem, sitting silently at Yuugi's bedside.

Jounouchi tries to engage him in conversation, and though Atem responds often enough, his answers are brief, and he almost always speaks with his eyes still on Yuugi's unmoving form. Jounouchi doesn't take it personally; Atem had returned almost wholly to be with Yuugi again, and for Yuugi to have fallen unconscious at the mere sight of him… Jounouchi can only imagine the pain that must have come from that.

Still, Atem stays at Yuugi's side and Yuugi stays still, and time keeps moving forward. Jounouchi isn't quite sure what Atem is waiting for, what made him decide to return, but for his part he trusts Atem implicitly. He is willing to wait for him to speak the words they all know will wake Yuugi from his slumber. Their friends may not see eye-to-eye with Jounouchi on this, but Jounouchi is more than willing to stand firm in his belief in Atem. He would not have come back for anything less than his love for Yuugi, and it is nothing less than his love for Yuugi that will wake him. Of this, Jounouchi is certain, and for this, he is willing to wait. Time may mean little to Atem, but to the rest of them it is all they have, and they only want to have Yuugi back with them. But Jounouchi will wait and Yuugi will wait and Atem will wait and, together, they will find their way back to center.

It will take time, but the time will come, and Jounouchi is willing to wait.

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'ed. Part of my Round Eight H/C Bingo Card. [Come hang with me on tumblr!](http://hollyandvice.tumblr.com/)


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